State Briefs 1/30/08

Wednesday

Jan 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMJan 30, 2008 at 12:07 AM

News from around Illinois, as reported by GateHouse newspapers.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS
Giuliani still coming to town?
SPRINGFIELD -- The Sangamon County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Luncheon on Saturday will be at the University of Illinois at Springfield instead of the Illinois State Fairgrounds, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani - at least for now - is still expected to attend.
“I think we're still going to have a very good event and those that are going to come are going to enjoy it,” said county GOP Chairwoman Rosemarie Long.
Long and other top Republicans met today at party headquarters to discuss details of the event after a power outage affecting part of the fairgrounds forced the luncheon to be moved.
Long said that doors at Sangamon Auditorium at UIS will open at 11 a.m. Saturday. The program will begin at 11:30 a.m.
While Giuliani is widely reported to be dropping out of the race and backing U.S. Sen. John McCain for president, Long said indications are that hasn't affected his plans for Saturday in Springfield.
“As far as we know, he is coming,” Long said. “We've had a few calls, and they're still working on everything. It's not been mentioned that he's canceling at all.”
She said it is rumor only, but “we have had one call that there's a possibility that McCain might come.” That, she added, is “definitely not official.”
If neither Giuliani nor McCain can come, she said, Jack Kemp, the running mate for unsuccessful Republican presidential hopeful Bob Dole in 1996, might substitute.
Sangamon County Republicans had endorsed Giuliani. Long said the local party probably will not make a new endorsement before Tuesday's Illinois primary election.
State Journal-Register
Airport Authority prepares to change name
PEORIA -- After more than a half-century, the Greater Peoria Airport Authority will be no more.
The Airport Authority was expected Wednesday to rename the nearly 58-year-old public entity as the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria.
The name change, a result of state legislation passed last year, coincides with expansion of the Peoria airport's taxing district to encompass all of Peoria County, which took effect Jan. 1.
The alteration has no effect on the airport's name itself, although officials discussed last year renaming Greater Peoria Regional Airport to Peoria International Airport, better reflecting the airport's growth and reach as well as the construction of a new $30 million to $40 million terminal building and the airport's current three letter identifier, "PIA."
The tax district expansion is expected to generate an estimated $500,000 in additional revenue annually, which officials say is to be used for capital improvements and to leverage more federal dollars at both Greater Peoria Regional and Mount Hawley airports.
Peoria Journal Star
Boy to be tried as adult on weapons charges
PEORIA -- A 15-year-old Peoria boy will be tried as an adult after being caught with a loaded handgun two months after a stint in juvenile prison for his part in the 2006 beating that left another teenager in a coma for two days.
Peoria County Judge Chris Fredericksen sided with prosecutors Tuesday, granting a motion to transfer LaTodd Williams from the juvenile to the adult division of Peoria County Circuit Court.
What the felony charges will be is not known, but as a juvenile, Williams faced two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm with obliterated markings.
According to court records, Williams was arrested in December outside an area liquor store. Police were called to the store because of a large crowd outside. When they arrived, Williams tried to run away.
Assistant State's Attorney Caryn Kamp argued for the transfer, noting the teen's past criminal history, which featured a conviction for aggravated battery for a the Sept. 8, 2006, fight at a middle school. She also noted Williams was seen by the arresting officer holding the gun in his hand as he ran away.
Peoria Journal Star
Springfield woman makes it through to Hollywood on 'American Idol'
SPRINGFIELD -- Elizabeth Eckert, a 19-year-old Sacred Heart-Griffin High School graduate, appeared on Tuesday night's episode of "American Idol," which featured pre-taped auditions in Omaha, Neb.
Her rendition of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," was good enough to advance her to the next round of competition in Hollywood.
She drew laughs at the end of her segment by accidentally telling the camera she would prove to "Idol" judge Simon Cowell that she would become "America's Next Top Model," which is a different reality show.
State Journal-Register
Donation plan faces scrutiny from state
BLOOMINGTON -- To give or not to give - that has not been the question for Corn Belt Energy Cooperative customers.
The approximately 36,000 members of the rural electricity and natural gas provider in 18 central Illinois counties, but predominantly in McLean County, instead have to ask themselves whether to fill out paperwork in order to keep up to 99 cents of every monthly bill they receive.
That's because the coop's board of directors in April 2006 voted to institute a program that rounds up each customer's bill to the nearest dollar and deposits that change into an account for later donation to local charitable causes.
Dubbed "Operation Round Up" after an identical plan out of the Palmetto Electric Cooperative in South Carolina that was started in 1989, Corn Belt's program also automatically tacks on the fee to its customers' bills. Each customer has to call or fill out a form to opt out of the program.
It's that aspect of the program that piqued the interest of the Illinois Attorney General's Office after it was unveiled to Corn Belt members with their bills in November. The program actually began at the beginning of the year, though it hasn't accumulated any funds yet because January bills haven't been completed, mailed or paid.
"We've submitted everything to (the attorney general's office), and they may have asked us one question," said Corn Belt spokesman Dave Hawkinson from the cooperative's Bloomington headquarters. "I believe they are going to review the information we provided."
Peoria Journal Star
Pharmacist's suspicions lead to two arrests
PEKIN -- After asking pharmacists last week for their help in the battle on methamphetamine use in Pekin, police were able to arrest two men for attempting to purchase pseudoephedrine pills to allegedly use as a means to produce the illegal drug.
According to Pekin Police Detective Chris Bitner, police received a tip on Saturday in regard to two men who asked to buy an undisclosed amount of pseudoephedrine pills from a downtown pharmacist.
Upon arriving, police located the two men, later identified as Damien Graves and Israel Isbell, in a parking lot near the pharmacy.
Graves, 24, of Pekin, was charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, possession of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a precursor for meth. Graves was arrested for having a precursor drug after police found four boxes of pseudoephedrine in his coat pocket.
Isbell, 31, of Pekin, also was arrested for a possession of a drug precursor, possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia.
Bitner said the police have asked local pharmacists for their help because of the easy access to pseudoephedrine pills.
He also said the pharmacists who have agreed to help have been educated in what to look for when approached by a customer who is seeking materials needed for meth manufacturing.
Pekin Daily Times
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Feds clear Brookfield Zoo on giraffe’s death
BROOKFIELD -- An inspector from the USDA paid a visit to the Brookfield Zoo this week and determined none of the zoo staff is responsible for the recent unexpected death of a giraffe, according to reports.
Dusti was found dead on Jan. 19 inside his exhibit by a zookeeper. The 11-year-old male giraffe’s neck was tangled in a rope used as part of a pulley system which was located in an adjoining hallway.
Chicago Suburban
Man crashes into arts academy
ROCKFORD -- A man was charged with drunken driving after, police say, he ran a red light, hit another vehicle and crashed into Ellis Arts Academy late Tuesday.
Sharod Joiner, 23, of Rockford, also was charged with disobeying a traffic-control signal and driving without a valid driver’s license, Rockford Police Sgt. Dane Person said.
The crash happened just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, when Joiner, heading south on Central, allegedly ran a red light and struck a vehicle heading east on State, Person said.
Joiner’s car then veered into the school building and a fence, though the extent of the structural damage was unknown.
Joiner also suffered injuries that Person said are not life-threatening. He was taken to SwedishAmerican Hospital.
No one in the eastbound car was hurt, Person said.
Rockford Register Star
Car smashed by 2 trains; cops say driver was drunk
HINSDALE -- Police said a 1996 Plymouth minivan was struck by two Metra commuter trains during rush hour Monday night in downtown Hinsdale. No one was injured.
Franciszek Chudzik, 72, of Aurora, was driving north on Washington Street and made an improper turn on to the tracks when the vehicle became stuck. Witnesses persuaded Chudzik to abandon the van before it was hit.
“I give credit to the good Samaritans who stopped to help. … If it wasn’t for their help, he probably would have been fatally injured,” said Hinsdale Deputy Police Chief Mark Wodka.
Chudzik was arrested at the scene and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and trespassing on railroad property, police said.
Wodka said police received a call at 5:40 p.m. that a car stuck on the tracks at Lincoln crossing. An officer arrived and found the car was at the Washington Street crossing. Within 20 seconds of police arriving at the correct location, an unoccupied Metra train heading toward Chicago struck the van, pushing it in front of a commuter train going to Aurora.
The occupied Burlington Northern Santa Fe Train No. 1267, scheduled to arrive at the Route 59 station in Aurora at 6:03 p.m., hit the van less than a minute later, causing it to blow up. Police said it was described as a “fireball.”
Parts scattered throughout the platform damaging parked vehicles and breaking windows at the Hinsdale Metra Station and Cosí restaurant.
An attempt to stop train traffic was made, but not in time to avoid the collision, according to police.
Chicago Suburban
Walgreen Co. helps out college
ROCKFORD -- The nation’s largest drugstore company will chip in to help build the region’s first pharmacy school, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford announced today.
Walgreen Co. will give $250,000 toward the school’s two-year capital campaign to add 58,000 square feet to its Parkview Avenue campus. The renovation will bring a University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy campus that will eventually draw 200 pharmacy students.
“We’re below the per capita mean for pharmacists both in the northwest Illinois region — and then throughout the state, especially the rural communities, there’s a shortage of pharmacists,” said Dr. Martin Lipsky, dean of the medical school. “We feel it helps meet a health manpower need in the community.”
At a news conference attended by a Walgreens executive, the school named a dozen donors who pledged $2.2 million in gifts toward the project’s estimated $32 million price tag. The school hopes to raise $12 million for construction. So far, it has raised $3.9 million for the building and programs.
Another $14.25 million is expected from the state’s long-awaited capital plan. But even if legislators fail to approve that budget, the university system will pick up the tab, Lipsky said. In July, the University regents approved a $26 million bond issue to cover construction costs and give the project a financial boost.
The college hopes to break ground in January 2009, but already some internal renovations already are beginning because the school will accept its first pharmacy class the following fall, Lipsky said.
Rockford Register Star
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Fed Ex driver delivers for family
HARRISBURG -- Ralph and Phyllis Ochinero and their two sons, Timothy and Rocky, moved to Harrisburg from the Bloomington area about four months ago.
Ralph was accustomed to carrying Timothy since he was born. Timothy has cerebral palsy and is unable to walk up or down steps. Transporting his son is an effort for Ralph who injured his shoulder in a fall of 45 to 50 feet along with 200 pounds of gravel.
The family moved to a home on Baker Street and Ochinero resigned himself to carrying Timothy into the house when he arrived home from Brownsville School until he could find a way to get a wheelchair ramp.
"I looked into it, but nobody was able to put it up where I wanted it and I didn't know any agencies around that could put it up for us," Ochinero said. "Then these organizations came around and surprised us. They were willing to step up and put in the effort to do it for him."
The catalyst was Fed Ex delivery man Mark Phillips.
"I was stuck behind the school bus one day in August. I saw Ralph come out and Timothy was getting off the school bus on the lift. I saw Ralph scoop him up over his shoulder and take him in the house. I thought, 'Why is there not a ramp there?'" Phillips said.
"A month down the road Sherry Aldridge was riding as a temp driver and told me about all the people in Saline County she knew."
Aldridge is from Eldorado. While on the route Phillips and Aldridge passed by Baker Street and again saw Ralph carrying Timothy into the house.
"I thought, 'Why don't we get somebody on the horn,'" Phillips said.
Phillips took a collection among the other Fed Ex independent contractors. Aldridge contacted United Way of Saline County who funded lumber. Shoemaker Construction of Johnson County provided labor.
"It's a lot better than what it was. He has more independence," Ralph said.
Timothy still has to hold on to someone as he ascends and descends the ramp, but seems to enjoy knowing he can get to the house on his own two feet.
Fed Ex workers are talking about starting up an annual charity fundraiser when they spot families who need help.
Daily Register
Officials seek horses stolen from area farm
FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Authorities are looking for two horses believed to have been stolen from a farm located between Akin and Macedonia in rural Franklin County.
Franklin County Sheriff Bill Wilson said James Stone on Monday afternoon told his office that two horses were missing from his farm.
Stone said he first noticed a black-and-white paint quarterhorse mare missing from a pasture at his farm last Wednesday. Then, two days later, a 10-month-old brown and white appaloosa was found missing.
At first, Stone told authorities, he believed the horses had just gotten out of the enclosure. But a search turned up no downed fence where the horses could have escaped.
He and his family searched the area around the farm, but no signs of the horses could be found.
“They've looked all over and I don't believe they're loose,” said the sheriff.
Stone valued the horses, both cross-registered for breeding purposes, at $2,000 for the older mare and $5,000 for the younger horse.
Benton Evening News

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